Italians start a widespread lockdown.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/14/world/italy-covid-lockdown.html

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Three-quarters of Italians entered a strict lockdown on Monday, as the government put in place restrictive measures to fight the rise in infections.

A more contagious variant first identified in Britain, combined with a slow vaccine rollout, led to a 15 percent increase in cases in Italy last week, a worrisome picture for the government run by Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

“I am aware that today’s measures will have an impact on children’s education, on the economy but also on the psychological state of us all,” Mr. Draghi said on Friday. “But they are necessary to avoid a worsening that will make inevitable even more stringent measures.”

Most regions in northern Italy, as well as Lazio and Marche in central Italy and Campania and Puglia in the south, have shut schools and barred residents from leaving their homes except for work, health or necessity. Among business activities, only supermarkets, pharmacies and a few other stores will stay open, but restaurants are closed.

In the rest of the country, residents are not be allowed to leave their municipality without reason involving work, health or other necessities, but schools and many stores will stay open.

“We believe that only with widespread vaccinations will we be able to avoid measures like these,” Mr. Draghi added.

Fewer than two million people in the country have been fully vaccinated so far, partly because of late deliveries from the pharmaceutical industries, but also because of logistical problems in some regions. Italy is one of the hardest-hit countries in the world: The coronavirus has killed more than 100,000 people there, and infected 3.2 million.

The entire country will be on lockdown for the Easter weekend in early April to prevent the usual large family reunions. As with restrictions in place over Christmas, people will still be allowed to leave their homes once a day.

In other news from around the world:

The government of Hong Kong said on Monday that vaccine eligibility would be expanded to include everyone age 30 and older regardless of occupation, as the Chinese territory tries to increase vaccine uptake. About 200,000 of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million residents have received a first dose of either the BioNTech or Sinovac vaccines since the inoculation drive began late last month. But the proportion of people who show up for their appointments has fallen amid reports that six people have died after receiving the vaccine developed by Sinovac, a private Chinese company. Officials say that two of the deaths are not directly related to the vaccine and that the others are under investigation. The vaccine announcement came as Hong Kong is trying to contain a cluster of cases that began at a gym and has grown to 122 people, with more than 850 close contacts sent to government quarantine facilities and multiple residential buildings locked down overnight for mandatory testing. Also on Monday, the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong said it was closing for deep cleaning after two employees tested positive for the virus.

The Netherlands on Sunday joined other European countries in halting use of the AstraZeneca vaccine because of concerns over the risk of blood clots. Thailand and the Democratic Republic of Congo have also delayed their rollouts of the vaccine, though Thai officials said on Monday that they would use the AstraZeneca vaccine starting on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha among the first to receive it, according to Reuters. On Sunday, the Piedmont region in northern Italy said it would temporarily stop administering the AstraZeneca vaccine, a day after a teacher there died after receiving the shot.

In France, Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Sunday that the country had to “use all weapons available to avoid a lockdown,” urging people to get vaccinated and tested for the virus. The French government has so far rejected pressure from health experts to institute a third national lockdown as infections and deaths climb, Reuters reported.